THE circumstances surrounding the death of a North-East man at a Turkish airport are still being investigated, officials have confirmed.

Andrew Westlake, 30, of Annfield Plain, near Stanley, County Durham, was on a family holiday with his girlfriend and baby daughter when the tragedy happened, early on Tuesday morning.

Eyewitnesses described how he fell about 50ft after jumping over a ledge inside the terminal.

His shocked family said they were still waiting for answers about the circumstances, amid conflicting reports of how he died.

Fellow passenger Perry Sheldon, from Dudley, North Tyneside, said he spoke to Mr Westlake before they boarded a Jet2.com flight.

He said: “I was stood next to him and he seemed a bit strange at first, I think he was just nervous.

“I asked if he was all right and he said they had kicked him off a previous flight and the reason he said to me was he had blisters on his feet from sunburn.”

Mr Westlake had received his boarding pass and passport and was allowed on, Mr Sheldon said, but after around 20 minutes he was removed from the flight.

Mr Sheldon said: “He didn’t act aggressively in any way, he just stood up and got off.”

His aunt Pauline Butler, sister of his mother June, said: “We are still in the dark about what has happened.

“We have not heard from the Foreign Office. All we have heard is rumours, it’s not fair.”

The family appealed for anyone on the flight to come forward with information about what they saw.

A Jet2.com spokeswoman said: “We understand that a customer sadly passed away on Tuesday morning, following an incident inside the terminal building at Dalaman Airport.

“Contrary to some reports, we can confirm that the customer was not injured on our aircraft or in the vicinity of our aircraft.

“As investigations are ongoing it would be inappropriate for us to comment any further, however we would like to extend our sincere condolences to the customer’s family and friends at this very sad time.”

A Durham Police spokesman said: “We were informed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the death of British citizen, Andrew Westlake, in Turkey yesterday.

“Our officers passed the devastating news to the family who we are supporting. Our thoughts are with Andrew’s family and friends.”

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokeswoman said: “We are supporting the family of a British man following his death in Turkey and we are in touch with the local authorities.”